Minister for Portsmouth '˜a firm believer in school academies'

The minister’s message comes despite criticism from Hampshire’s Tory education boss Peter Edgar over the government’s plan to make every school become an academy.

Mr Francois met headteachers at Admiral Lord Nelson School, run by Sultan Education Academy, in the city yesterday to talk more about the need to boost prospects for children.

He said: ‘Educational attainment has been an issue in Portsmouth for a number of years.

‘We need something to boost the performance of schools across Portsmouth.

‘Eighty per cent of them are rated as good, but some need to do better.

‘The government made an announcement in the Budget that by 2020, it wanted all schools to become academies and I think that will be a very positive move for Portsmouth.

‘We had a good question-and-answer session at Admiral Lord Nelson school.

‘There was a great response to academies. This would mean giving headteachers greater autonomy and responsibility. The head of Mayfield School said it would a great opportunity for Portsmouth. I’m a firm believer in the academy process.’